1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to anti-theft devices, and more particularly to an anti-theft apparatus for use with market-type shopping carts and other similar swivel-wheeled carts.
2. Prior Art
At the present time, there are many thousands of markets and stores which utilize a significant number of shopping carts in or on their premises. Customers are generally allowed to take shopping carts from the store to their car in the parking lot. Unfortunately, a significant number of shopping carts are removed or stolen from store parking lots. The loss rate from thefts is alarmingly high, on the increase, and is extremely expensive for the owners. It is estimated that more than a million shopping carts are stolen annually from markets and stores in the United States alone. These thefts result in annual monetary losses of many millions of dollars for store owners.
Shopping cart anti-theft devices proposed in the past have mainly comprised some form of wheel locking or braking system. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,037 to Stollman. In this device a wheel of a shopping cart is locked against rotation when the cart passes over a magnetic barrier 40. All of the known devices of this type require some modification of the wheel itself so that it can engage with a locking member to lock the wheel in place. Although this is a deterrent to theft, the cart can still be pushed against the action of the locked wheel, which will then slide along the ground. The locking system is often open to easy manual tampering or release, and the cart can be tipped to avoid actuation of the system by the magnetic barrier.